The present invention relates generally to management of man made structures such as building and facilities and specifically to automated means of said management.
Building and facilities management personnel and owners need an easy way to manage all aspects of their properties. Conventional systems allow management of certain aspects (e.g. climate control) of a facility but do not presently allow management of all aspects of a facility either individually or in the aggregate.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a system and method to allow monitoring and control of every aspect of a facility by providing an easy to use computer interface.
The present invention facilitates, by an easy to use “point and click” computer interface, space management, project delivery management, operations management and capital asset management thus simplifying, utilization, programming, design, construction, operations, planned maintenance, user requested needs, repairs, retrofits upgrades, improvements, replacements, and space planning.
The invention also simplifies due diligence studies, condition assessment of properties, testing and repair programming, preparation of cost estimates, project program management, construction documents, construction management, construction, management & training, information technology (it) management, storage, and hardware & training.
In operation, all or part of any aspects or characteristics of a facility (i.e. any man made structure) or group of facilities are measured, collected, and/or input into a computer database or computer memory. Thus, all characteristics may be grouped or filtered and viewed by intuitive graphical and/or textual interfaces. These characteristics can be manipulated in real time or simply observed to gain understanding.
For example, a user who owns or manages several office buildings may view energy usage in real time. The usage may be expressed in units of energy or the cost of the energy. Having a thorough knowledge of the energy usage of individual as well as aggregate properties can allow users to make informed purchases of energy. Deregulation of utilities allows bulk purchases of energy. Understanding the energy usage of properties can help decisions to purchase off peak energy.
Another example illustrates viewing a building by temperature zone (the area controlled by a given thermostat). The user can identify areas where energy is being unnecessarily used.
Another example illustrates a user viewing all electrical motors by size (horsepower), age, location, or energy usage (kWhrs). The user can preclude problems by early diagnosis of need of replacement or preventive maintenance. The invention can provide a database of motor dealers or repair facilities matched to the motors. The user can place orders online for new equipment or order repair services.
The invention allows users to view actual Arial or street view photographs of buildings. In contrast, buildings can be viewed as virtual images using colors to distinguish given characteristics such as areas (e.g. shipping and receiving, lobby, offices, etc.)
The invention provides a way to view complete, and up date, building schematics (drawings). The drawings can be viewed by electrical, mechanical, architectural, plumbing, etc. Doing so is advantageous and can assist in the addition or repair of equipment, law enforcement, or firemen, to name a few.
The invention can provide a complete inventory of all equipment. The equipment may be categorized. For example, energy using equipment vs. furniture. The equipment can be subcategorized and further sorted and grouped by energy used, type of energy, capital cost, and operational cost.
The invention is advantageous in that equipment can be viewed in multiple buildings. The age of the equipment, as well as other historical data, can be viewed. Thus, users may take advantage of bulk discounts by identifying equipment needing replacement and order larger quantities.
Other benefits include cost savings, asset lifecycle modeling, accountability, transparency, accessible via internet or wireless networks, custom tailored to meet client needs, can easily switch between properties saving time and costs, integrates all the building management functions such as leasing, work orders, operations, repair and maintenance into one click easy to use tool, the program is tailored to meet customers buildings, requirements and needs, the facility management tool is engineered for each customer to manage their daily information needs in a “click easy” format using interactive 3d virtual graphics with 24/7 access either on site or remotely via internet or other types of networks (cellular, wwan, wlan, etc.).
One example of a preferred embodiment (this example is for illustrative purposes and as such is only one of many uses) of the present invention comprises a property management company having a user that logs in to a website using name, password and/or other parameters.
Upon login, the user is presented with an account list. An “Asset list” and “Asset map” are provided for each account.
The Asset map comprises a graphical geographic map with indicators or flags showing each location for each company. Geographic regions (e.g. Midwest) are color coded. The user may click on a region.
The Asset list comprises textual listings of “regions”, “facilities”, and “buildings” for a given account.
Each account represents a different company. Each company has multiple locations. Each location can have multiple buildings that can be manufacturing or process facilities.
The user clicks (the definition of “clicks” or “click” as used herein is defined as, in addition to dictionary and normal usage, as using the mouse or similar input device on a computer relative to a graphical user interface to create a software event) on one account thereby causing the asset map and asset list to show locations and buildings for that account.
The map displays textual information about each flag on mouse-over. The term “mouse-over” is defined as, in addition to dictionary and ordinary meanings, as the graphical image of the mouse cursor moving over a region of the graphical user interface. The user may click on either one of the flags of the map or the textual listings of buildings or locations.
By using the above method, the user eventually selects a specific site which may have several buildings. The user may then view site specific information in textual or graphic form. The graphical form comprises actual photos or graphical renderings. The user may graphically manipulate the image by using the mouse to rotate, zoom, or pan the image. Thus, different sides or sections of a building may be viewed.
The user may click on any exterior facade of the building to display specific information. The user may zoom in and through walls to display inner rooms and equipment. The user may click on any piece of equipment, wall, or other structure to display information.
Information that is displayed comprises physical characteristics, maintenance, proposals, reports, drawings (schematics, or other), projects (e.g. motor replacement), funding sources or any other information deemed important. The user may modify the data displayed or add new data or delete existing data.